


Heartbeats

by tourdefierce



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, Medical Kink, Romance, Twisted and Fluffy Feelings, bottom!Arthur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-06
Updated: 2012-01-06
Packaged: 2017-10-29 01:41:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/314464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tourdefierce/pseuds/tourdefierce
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being a medical student is hard. Puns totally intended.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Heartbeats

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to syrosis and vivitchi for the betaing.
> 
> Written for the merlin_muses prompt 43 in 2010.
> 
> Originally posted on LJ: November 21st, 2010.

Being a medical student is hard.

There isn't much sleep to be had for anyone, the doctor's yell all the bloody time, fear of killing someone is nearly constant, and the uniforms are terrible for everyone’s complexion. That's only to name a few for the sake of time because the list of supporting material is long.

But there are perks.

At least, Merlin thinks so. He appreciates his days off more than any of his mates. He's prone to kissing the ground of his flat and worshipping every moment he's not wrenching his back sleeping in the on call room. (He swears the bed is actually made out of _straw_ and is infested with fleas but nobody cares when he complains. In fact, Gwen actually laughs behind the nursing desk and tells him to stop being such an infant. According to her, doctors are useless children that deserve to be beaten. Merlin thinks she's been spending too much time with Head Nurse Morgana, who eats doctors for her midmorning snack.)

He gets free coffee by the bucket full, even though it's complete shite. He's never in need of a prescription or a physicians appointment. He gets to be a hero when he doesn't bollocks it up; once, he even got to bring a life into the world by the name of Mordred, a scary little newborn with obscenely large eyes that Gaius explained as Merlin's fault for squeezing his head too hard during birth. Merlin just thinks the child was strange.

But by far, the best perk of Merlin's job is how it benefits his sex life. Despite the popular opinion that medical school completely fucks up any social life students have, Merlin has found the exact opposite to be true.

First off, there are free condoms. Loads of free condoms in all shapes, sizes and colours. Secondly, free lube and it's not just any lube, it's medical lube. It's very... effective. And the third and final reason why medical school is the best thing that has happened to Merlin's sex life since discovering his affinity towards _cock_ , is Arthur Pendragon.

Dr Arthur Pendragon, Head Surgeon in the cardiac department. He's a _heart_ doctor and he is very, very good at pretty much everything he does. (He knows it too, which is bloody annoying but Merlin ignores the fact that Arthur is an arrogant twat because...)

He's fit as fuck and as gay as two unicorns copulating next to a rainbow.

(Yes, that gay.)

<3<3<3

Merlin sags against the nursing station and contemplates the bagel on the counter that looks as if it might be moulding.

“Is this moulding or is it just the lighting?”

Gwen arches an eyebrow and continues to stack charts. Merlin pokes at the bagel, which doesn't grow legs and walk away so he's pretty sure his digestive system can handle it. If it can handle the twenty or so cups of coffee out of Styrofoam, which he's fairly sure will give him cancer from all the time he spends putting his cups in the microwave, then his stomach can probably handle a slightly off bagel.

His mobile beeps.

“You're supposed to turn that thing off,” Gwen says offhandedly but without heat. Merlin knows that it doesn't affect anyone’s life or death. He's a doctor. They can't lie to him anymore.

Text: from Arthur  
 _mine or yours?_

Merlin smirks, his mind seamlessly transitioning from a moulding bagel to one Arthur Pendragon. Unfortunately, that means he's grinning like a loon and Gwen is rolling her eyes while the rest of the nursing staff is cooing over him.

Text: to Arthur  
 _what for?_

“You two are disgusting,” Morgana says from somewhere behind Gwen and the rest of the nurses.

“I have no idea what you're talking about.”

Gwen rolls her eyes again but a smile is growing somewhere in there because as much as she would like the world to think she's a rough and tough blacksmith's daughter, she's incredibly soft and cuddly on the inside. Morgana, who is not bluffing and is actually heinous to everyone who isn't a nurse, makes some hellish sound behind Gwen but it's drowned out by Merlin's phone beeping again.

Text: from Arthur  
 _off in 20. i'm having you naked._

“Oo, that one must be dirty because he's blushing,” Morgause says from where she's perched, sorting what looks to be needles. She's as scary as every rumour Merlin has heard and Merlin still trembles a little when he's assigned to her floor to do rounds. The latest rumour is that she fed the annoying plastic surgeon consultant to her snake. Now, Merlin wouldn't believe a word of it if it wasn't for the fact that Edwin has been missing for over a week and Morgause has been smiling a little more evilly as of late.

“It's not dirty,” he lies, his thoughts shifting away from Morgause's pets and their diets (because um, scary). He pockets his phone as subtly as he can but he doesn't let it go. He's still got thirty more minutes on the clock because Will's going to be late for his shift. Not that Arthur and him _plan_ their off shifts or any of that rubbish.

Except that they totally do.

“Whatever, you two are shagging like bunnies,” Morgana says and she finally appears from her office of doom. Merlin is sure there are souls of dead children and medical school dropouts piled up in her closet.

“We're not bunnies, Morgana.” Merlin tries to look stern but whenever Arthur texts him, he gets ridiculously giddy. Like a school girl dating the popular footie player. “We're grown men in a mature-”

Merlin is cut off when an Arthur-shaped figure presses him up against the nursing counter, lean arms boxing him in and burying his face in Merlin's neck. Merlin tries very hard not to sigh in glee like all the nursing staff is currently doing but it's a Herculean feat when Arthur smells like the operating room's soap and sweat, a combination of scents that are tied so closely to Arthur that Merlin can't help but swoon or get hard every time he smells them.

“Let that harpy call us whatever she wants if it means you're inside of me sooner,” Arthur growls into his neck and Merlin feels himself flush even further, his cock stirring in his scrubs despite their location.

Merlin tries not to squirm or push back against Arthur's body but he does so anyway because Arthur's so _warm_ and the cold, re-circulated air of the hospital seems to get to everyone except Arthur. Merlin feels the cold, with his poor circulation and lanky limbs. However, it leaves him with an legitimate excuse to cuddle close to Arthur. He's a girl, like Arthur always accuses him of being. He gets it but he's beyond caring.

In their defence, they've done nothing but make-out like teenagers during their ten-minute breaks for the past five days. Merlin wants nothing more than to lie somewhere horizontal with Arthur, without clothes, touch his fill and literally fuck the smell of hospital off of Arthur until he smells like home: books, freshly cut grass, and tea. He misses him. It's pathetic but Merlin doesn't care because Arthur is fucking wonderful. He's smart, fit and amazing in bed. Not to mention the fact that he's besotted with Merlin, which is just fine by Merlin if anyone was wondering.

He's also conveniently rich and a prat but Merlin can't help it, he's already half way in love with the man and he sees no point in stopping.

“What are you doing right now that is more important than shagging me?” Arthur mutters against his skin and it's hot and a little bit wet because Arthur can't be arsed to lift his mouth from Merlin's neck. It's _distracting_.

“I'm working, stop molesting me in front of the nurses,” Merlin whines but it's without heat because he's pushing back into Arthur's warm body, practically gagging for it and everyone knows it. Plus, he wasn't doing anything close to work before Arthur came along. A fact that everyone is also aware of.

Especially Arthur, because he smirks against Merlin's neck, all confidence and feral intentions as he takes one of Merlin's hands and puts it on his own arse.

“There, now _you're_ molesting me,” Arthur says in his smoothest tone, lifting his head to wink at the nurses who all sigh and coo and generally fawn all over him. Merlin wants to be a little bit jealous at the way they react to Arthur because they fawn and coo over Merlin but more like he's a baby animal and not because he's charming and fuckable. Merlin blushes beat red when Arthur nuzzles back into his neck and wants to die a little bit inside when the nurses start back up again, while simultaneously gloating that yes, this charming and incredibly attractive man is his.

“Stop distracting my nurses,” Morgana snarls, brandishing a chart at the both of them. Merlin scoots back, just missing the swipe of her clipboard. “Leave, before someone _dies_.”

She says it with a smile but both know Morgana isn't referring to patients they might have to save.

“I've got to wait for Will,” Merlin whines. Morgana scoffs and makes some sort of sweeping motion that Merlin interprets as _just get out of here already_ but he looks to Arthur to make sure. Knowing Merlin's luck, someone will code the moment they step off hospital grounds and he'll have to take the slack for it. His face must relay his thoughts because Morgana is growling at him again.

“We are far more competent at saving lives than you lot,” Morgana says, challenging anyone to say otherwise. Morgause looks as if she wants to throw a needle at Arthur's face. Merlin continues to hide in the safety box of Arthur's arms.

Arthur smiles, predatory and prattish, right back at her. Their relationship is a mystery to Merlin but now is not the time to puzzle it out. With a shrug and a dashing wink, Arthur says goodbye to the nursing staff and pulls at Merlin's shoulder, turning them toward the door and waving at the gaggle of nurses who are _still_ fretting over the two of them like they are puppies.

Merlin would be disgusted if he wasn't so excited for the shagging to commence.

“Evening ladies,” Arthur says with a cheerful little wave. “I've much debauchery to commit to this young man, so I must be off. But I'll see you lovely ladies tomorrow.”

And with that, Merlin is blushing down to the depths of his soul and they are making their way out of the hospital, Arthur's arm around his shoulder and a promise of much debauchery and rumours to flood the staff in the coming days. Not that there weren't enough rumours about them having it off in the surgery gallery and the on-call suite and the mortuary and the Chief of Surgery's office (Arthur's _father_ for Christ's sake) and about a dozen other places that they certainly have not had sex in.

Although not for lack of trying.

<3<3<3

“We're almost home,” Merlin hisses as he squirms in his seat. “Stop groping me.”

Arthur grins, wicked and arrogant, before sliding his eyes to the cabbie's, who is watching them in the rear view mirror.

“Thank goodness we decided to take a cab,” Arthur growls into his ear, while Merlin yelps at being groped through his scrubs. “Taking the Underground would have been absolute murder.”

Merlin scowls, pushing Arthur's wandering hand away.

“ _We_ didn't decide,” Merlin says with an elbow to Arthur's side. “You hailed a cab while I was tying my shoe and threw me in.”

Arthur tries to look innocent but fails, as always, to seem anything but smug. How Arthur got away with anything as a child is a mystery to Merlin.

“The Underground is slow.”

“It isn't slow, Arthur. You're just too posh to ride with the rest of civilisation, you complete _snob_.”

Arthur grins again, smug being replaced with hungry as his hand creeps back up Merlin's thigh. Merlin sneaks another look at the cabbie, who is frowning at them at the rear view mirror as Arthur bites at Merlin's neck, not quite kissing and being entirely too charming for his own good. If they don't want to be arrested for public indecency or thrown out of the cab, they’d best stop.

“Mmm,” Arthur hums into the space behind Merlin's ear that usually turns Merlin's knees to pudding. “I don't understand your obsession with plebeian society, Merlin.”

Merlin huffs and tries to push Arthur's head away from his neck because he's getting embarrassingly hard from the combination of Arthur's hand and his voice, rough and secretive, as if Merlin is the only person in the world who matters. Merlin ends up flailing a bit when Arthur's fingers continue to stop along his thigh to knead slowly and _obscenely_. Arthur just laughs against Merlin's skin and Merlin feels his stomach clench in delight.

“The tube isn't plebeian, you—you _whore monger_ ,” Merlin stutters out as Arthur bites at Merlin's neck and completely disintegrates Merlin's plans to sound affronted. Instead, his voice kind of cracks and he jumps when Arthur's hand finally closes around Merlin's half hard cock.

“Yes, that is exactly what I am,” Arthur says with laughter. “A mongerer of whores.”

Merlin's head hits the back of the seat when Arthur grips his cock, flexing his hand and making Merlin forget what they were even talking about. Merlin's entire world narrows down to the hot press of Arthur's hand through the scrubs and his growing arousal for more of everything Arthur has to give and anywhere he wants to give it.

“We're here,” the cabbie says with a growl that seems to imply he would have them exit the vehicle sooner rather than later. Merlin jumps, head snapping back up to the cabbie, his cheeks flushing in both arousal and embarrassment as he remembers exactly where they are.

“Brilliant,” Arthur says and then he's out of the cab, leaving Merlin panting in arousal to pay the cabbie, who looks decidedly unimpressed.

<3<3<3

Merlin wants to shout and lecture Arthur about the amount of money spent on getting home but as soon as he walks through the doorway, he's being pushed into the wall and snogged. Merlin moans into the firm press of Arthur's mouth, letting Arthur control the kiss until they are both ragged with arousal, arching into each other and pulling at each other's clothes in desperation.

“Bedroom,” Merlin groans when Arthur latches onto his neck, tongue fluttering madly over the tiny nips he had made in the taxi. Merlin's skin is over sensitive, deprived of Arthur's full attention for far too long. Because waking up next to Arthur but not having time to touchtouchtouch is just teasing and unfair _madness_. But Merlin is quickly finding that nothing with Arthur is enough to satisfy Merlin's desires.

It takes several tries between sloppy kisses and arching hips to get them anywhere near the bedroom. But it's worth the wait, hearing Arthur laughing into the skin of his collarbone or the flesh of his neck as they trip over their shoes, trying to get scrubs off without separating for any period of time. They've made it as far as the hallway, which is impressive for them, considering how many times they have had sex on the floor of the foyer in the past.

“This is counter productive,” Merlin gasps as Arthur tries to work off Merlin's shirt while sucking on Merlin's ear.

“You taste so fucking good,” is the only answer he receives from Arthur, who is busy getting them both tangled in light blue scrubs and thrusting against Merlin's thigh, pressing him against the wall.

After several bouts of tugging from both parties, Merlin is free of his shirt and they are stumbling through the bedroom door. Merlin thanks the gods above, again, for making scrubs without zippers or buttons as they wrestle clothing off. He's not sure they'd actually be able to undress if it involved anything more complicated than tugging in the right direction.

They trip, more than once, over a pair of loafers that Merlin swears are actually moving to get in their way but eventually they make it to the bed, tumbling down with a flurry of limbs and clothes. When Merlin sits up to orientate himself, Arthur is straddling his hips and trying to get his own shirt off—all while sucking on Merlin's nipple.

“One thing at a time,” Merlin gasps in between moans and laughter. But Arthur is just shaking his head, a carefree grin on his face that barely takes the edge off of the obvious hunger written in his blown pupils and twist of his hips against Merlin's.

“Can't get enough of you,” Arthur says against Merlin's chest. He bites and sucks at Merlin's nipples, working them into peaks that has Merlin seeing stars way too quickly. He scrambles at Arthur's back, trying desperately to feel skin against skin.

Merlin tugs hard and Arthur's scrub top finally comes off, only to be flung across the room as Merlin hauls Arthur up to kiss, sloppy and heated. It amazes Merlin, how far they had come together sexually. Merlin can barely remember the times when Arthur would fuck him, silent and almost clinical, because it was so drastically different to the sex they had now. In the beginning, Arthur wouldn't dare bottom and he wouldn't do more than moan discretely during their evenings together. But now, Arthur wouldn't shut up and practically begged for Merlin inside of him. The sexual education of Arthur Pendragon was a task that Merlin was more than grateful to have been left up to him.

“Want you inside of me,” Arthur says as he nips at Merlin's mouth and Merlin nods, dumbly, as they both try to wiggle out of scrub bottoms and boxer briefs. There is much flailing from both parties as they seldom separate from their desperate necking, moaning against each other's mouths and rutting into sharp hips. It's only when they're finally naked that Arthur breaks off their kissing to reach into his bedside table for the lube and a condom. Merlin knows that Arthur will take care of it, he's more concerned with the fading lights that play on Arthur's body and how there isn't enough time for everything he wants to do to Arthur Pendragon; there isn't time enough in the world.

Arthur wastes no time in quickly and effectively rolling the condom on Merlin's dick, squeezing the head with a wicked grin, causing Merlin to curse and arch up from the bed at the heat of pleasure that comes with colliding with Arthur but by the time Merlin can open his eyes again, Arthur is reaching for the lube with devious intent.

He waggles his eyebrows at Merlin when he squirts the lube onto Merlin's two fingers and Merlin laughs, breathless and giddy when Arthur eagerly guides Merlin's fingers inside of him. Merlin lets Arthur move his fingers, preferring to watch Arthur's face as he takes care of the logistics in working the two fingers inside his tight channel. Arthur lets out little gasps, as if surprised at how wonderful Merlin's fingers feel inside of him even though Merlin's fingers spend a great deal of time inside of Arthur. Arthur _loves_ to get fingerbanged.

Merlin lets Arthur control the stretch and preparation, marvelling at the veins in Arthur's neck as he gasps and arches back on Merlin's twisting fingers. Merlin traces the veins with a slight hand, Arthur's breath coming in short pants and Merlin's finger pressing on the blood pumping steady and sure underneath Arthur's skin until he is consistently fucking himself onto Merlin's hand. He's thrusting himself on Merlin's fingers with such wanton abandonment that Merlin aches to devour him and wonderment blooms inside of him, that this man belongs to him. It is unbelievable.

“God,” Merlin breathes out. “Look at you.”

Arthur smiles lazily, his lashes low and sweeping over his cheekbones as he works himself back onto Merlin with jutting hips. It's only until his pace gets frantic that Merlin takes to sliding a third finger and flexing his hand until Arthur curses, shoving Merlin's fingers deep inside of him and moans filthily. He splays his hand on Arthur's chest, shoving his body back down until Merlin is moving Arthur's body up and down his three fingers with gentle pressure on his chest. It's intoxicating to see Arthur, head thrown back in pleasure, body twisting and flushed, desperate to get more of Merlin inside of him.

“Merlin,” Arthur moans on steady repeat, thrashing his body back on Merlin's hand, riding it as if it were Merlin's cock.

“Fuck, Arthur,” Merlin moans out. “You're so gorgeous.”

Arthur whines deep in his throat and Merlin shifts his hips in communication. It seems to be enough for Arthur to slide off Merlin's fingers and paw at Merlin's cock until it brushes against his entrance. Merlin traces Arthur's skin as he works Merlin's cock inside of him. It's slow and almost unbearable but Merlin breaths deeply and lets Arthur takes his time. He distracts himself from the nova of pleasure at being inside Arthur by tracing Arthur's veins again. They're teal-blue underneath Arthur's skin, which always seem to be golden-tan even when they spend long hours in the sunless void of the hospital. Merlin traces the bulging ones in Arthur's neck, pressing on them as he feels blood rushing through them when Arthur takes gulping breaths. Merlin follows their path across Arthur's shoulders and down his arms, tracing and retracing their soft and pillowy feel just underneath Arthur's sweaty skin.

Eventually, Merlin pulls Arthur by the wrist until Arthur can do nothing but let Merlin slide all the way inside of Arthur's tight heat. He gasps out Merlin's name and Merlin nods, his mouth licking and sucking at Arthur's wrist, the veins underneath pulsating and leaping at Merlin's tongue. They thrust shallowly together, just enjoying finally being together like this in what feels like forever. They are just building up a steady rhythm when Arthur stops and leans forward to kiss Merlin, before sitting up and reaching over into the bedside table again. It should be awkward because of the angle but Arthur executes the action flawlessly and with a sense of grace that Merlin can only admire.

When Arthur slides the stethoscope out of the drawer and into his ears, Merlin is confused between the tight, almost unbearable heat of Arthur pulsing around his cock and Arthur's actions. But he doesn't say anything, just gasps as Arthur rolls his hips and presses the cold-oh-so-cold diaphragm to his chest.

“God,” Merlin gasps, his back bowed and forcing his cock deeper into Arthur's heat. “What are you doing?”

Arthur just arches his own back, head thrown skyward and pressing the diaphragm into Merlin's chest, right over his heart, until it's biting into his skin. Never once do his hips stop rocking in tiny circles, pinning Merlin's own desperate hips to the bed. It's not enough movement or explanation and Merlin jerks an ear tip out of Arthur's ear.

“Arthur?”

Arthur's face is dopey with pleasure and Merlin almost doesn't care what exactly is going on because if he can make Arthur feel this good, look this blissed out, then he never wants to stop. But Arthur leans in close, working his tight hole up and down Merlin's cock in fractured thrusts as he leans close enough to kiss.

“Want to hear you,” Arthur whispers over his lips, hips in a slow grind that has Merlin gasping for air and clenching at Arthur's hips in a way that will undoubtedly leave bruises. “Want to hear your heart when I make you come, Merlin. Want to hear what you sound like when you fuck me.”

“Oh fuck, god,” Merlin moans, his hips arching, forcibly slamming into Arthur and almost unseating him.

“That's it,” Arthur murmurs, his filthy mouth scraping over Merlin's jugular in a way that Merlin knows is more about feeling his heart beat through the pump of his blood than anything else. It's quaking, the weight of this act between them and Merlin groans as Arthur shifts to work himself over Merlin's cock, his hips practically flying over Merlin's wild thrusts. They feel uncontrollable, Merlin alternating the position of his hands from scraping down Arthur's thighs to pushing and pulling at his hips, scratching at the skin there and reminding them both of what it feels like to be owned.

Arthur, bossy bottom that he usually is, isn't kicking up too much of a fuss. All of which makes Merlin suspicious but he can't really think straight, not with Arthur letting him thrust up into Arthur's tight, slick hole instead of what Arthur usually does, controlling the speed and depth of each and every thrust. Whatever game Arthur is playing at, it's unravelling Merlin's control.

“God, Arthur,” Merlin moans a bit incoherently when Arthur clenches around Merlin's cock and it feels like a vice, halfway painful but completely intoxicating.

“You should hear it,” Arthur whispers. “You should heart your heart when I do that.”

Merlin moans frantically when Arthur gasps and does it again, the heat so concentrated and intense. Merlin is slowly loosing touch with reality, his whole world narrowing to the inferno of Arthur's body wrapped around him, and Arthur's face, twisted in awe and pleasure. It's nothing that Merlin's ever seen before and it's too much, with Arthur's body rocking back and forth with the sheer force of Merlin's upward thrusts. Merlin catches glimpses of Arthur's face when Merlin aims for his prostate with a subtle tilt of his hips and it causes Arthur's back to bow abruptly, letting pleasure take control in the ebb and flow of Arthur's normally, carefully controlled body.

“What,” Merlin stutters out. “Oh god, _Arthur_.”

Arthur's eyes fly open, his hand clenching and unclenching on the tunable and pressing the diaphragm into Merlin's skin until it burns.

Merlin feels his breath catch at Arthur's eyes, blown-black and wild with pleasure and adoration. _This_ , everything between them slams into Merlin like a hurricane as their hips collide once more. Then Merlin is coming, a choked and broken cry wrenching out of his throat as Arthur leans in closer, as if he needs to be closer to Merlin's heart to hear the way it stops, skips a beat and then bursts into motion again as Merlin comes and comes, hips thrashing wildly up and into Arthur.

Merlin tries to keep his eyes open, tries to see the way Arthur's face scrunches up as he comes but Merlin can only feel the first splash of Arthur's orgasm on his belly before he blacks out, Arthur's name on his lips and undoubtedly on his heart.

When Merlin blinks into consciousness, Arthur is grinning above him. It's a shit-eating grin that makes Merlin want to kiss him and punch him at the same time. It's a regular feeling. But oddly enough, it's stronger when they're both naked.

“You blacked out,” Arthur says by way of explanation. His grin is nothing save smug.

Merlin shakes his head. “I did no such thing.”

Arthur's grin widens, if that is possible, and rakes his hand through the come on Merlin's belly. He smears it all over Merlin's chest and Merlin knows it's because Arthur likes to mark his territory but it still makes arousal heat in the base of his spine in an impossible kind of way.

“You passed out,” Arthur says, his other hand going to the stethoscope hanging by his neck. “I heard it.”

Merlin's brain finally catches up to him and he blushes head to fucking toe as the realisation that he did indeed black out from his orgasm hits him. Merlin throws his hands over his face and makes some sort of noise, whiny and pathetic, to indicate his utter mortification. Arthur laughs.

“I mean, I know I'm good but I've never made a dame pass out before.”

“I'm not a dame,” Merlin mutters into his arms, trying to squirm out from underneath the pin of Arthur's hips. But Arthur just laughs and squeezes harder, letting Merlin's thinner form thrash uselessly. Merlin hates it, feeling uncomfortable with the soiled condom on his softening dick and Arthur, smug and irritating on top of him. It feels achy and hurty in a new way that shifts from disbelief to true embarrassment, and suddenly Merlin feels as if he is about to cry.

“Get off,” Merlin chokes out and Arthur stills. The knowledge that Arthur has caught on to Merlin's discomfort is even more embarrassing, even though his mind connects to how _quickly_ Arthur caught on.

They both lay there, their laboured breaths filling the silence between them.

“Merlin,” Arthur says softly. “Merlin, let me see you.”

Merlin shakes his head, clenching his eyes tighter against his forearms but he doesn't resist when Arthur pulls his arms away. He squints up at Arthur, who doesn't look smug at all now, but thoughtful and adoring. Merlin is suddenly reminded of Arthur's face before he came and something breaks inside his chest. He chokes out a sob that doesn't lead to tears but his chest feels tight and his breath is short.

Arthur tilts his head and puts one of the ear tips back in, leaning and hunching down until he is practically laying flat against Merlin's body. Merlin shivers as he watches Arthur, eyes wide and vulnerable, as he brings the diaphragm up to press against the imprint in Merlin's chest. Arthur's eyes never leave his but Merlin blinks, looking down at where the diaphragm fits into the red circle on his chest that must have been made when they were fucking. When he looks back up at Arthur, Arthur's face is much closer and his lips are parted.

“I want to hear you,” Arthur says and his lips move against Merlin's own panting mouth. “I want to hear your heart all the time.”

It doesn't resemble any declaration of love that Merlin's ever heard but it feels and _sounds_ like it could be one for them. And Merlin finds himself nodding frantically and clambering his own hand to cover Arthur's.

They lie like that for a while, Merlin watching Arthur's face while Arthur listens to Merlin's heart. They lie there and Merlin feels short of breath from all of the feelings he has pounding in his chest. He's sure Arthur can hear and that fear bubbles up ugly and written all over his face. For a moment, he just wants to shove Arthur off, wants to laugh it all off and hide _everything_.

Eventually, the world around Merlin stops spinning and the scary, doomsday apocalypse of feelings ebbs away to be replaced with something so bright and sunshine-warm that it feels like it hurts his face to smile that way. But when Arthur smiles back in the same manner, his face full of awe again, Merlin doesn't feel so terrified anymore.

Merlin wraps his free hand around Arthur's neck and draws him in for a kiss. It's slow, intimate and searching in the same way it feels languid. When they pull apart, they're still smiling like idiots.

“I'm moving in,” Merlin says.

“Right,” Arthur says back and they go back to making out until they are both hard again.

They spend the rest of the night passing the stethoscope back and forth between them, listening to each other's heartbeats with childish delight in the newfound ground laid out before them. Arthur strips off the condom and licks Merlin's still sensitive cock clean. After that, they seem insatiable for each other and spend the evening rediscovering claimed skin that might have been forgotten in the bustle of busy life.

It's only when Arthur falls asleep, sprawled out on top of Merlin with his ear pressed against Merlin's heart, that Merlin lets himself consider the idea of falling completely in love with Dr Arthur Pendragon.

And if his heart skips a beat under Arthur's sleepy watch, Arthur doesn't say anything about it in the morning.


End file.
